This tweet sums up my weekend pretty well. Though the walls of the guest cottages are thick, the floorboards are not; we therefore decided a layer of R30 fiberglass insulation was called for, and Jae found a good deal on enough to do the job. So a week or so ago I crawled under the cottages and attached the insulation; I finished all of one and about half of the other. Then on Saturday, I finished the rest of the insulation and attached a netting of chicken wire (with a layer of plastic sheeting above it) underneath the insulation to hold it in place and keep it from dropping as it has in several neglected houses I’ve seen. On Sunday, I followed with the wire net for the other cottage, but that was a piece of cake compared to the first day; since the ground slopes down to the east, there’s a lot more room under the eastern cottage than under the one closer to the main house. On Saturday, I came out from the basement not only tired, cramped and filthy, but sneezing out bits of fiberglass and with considerable debris in and around my eyes. A long, hot shower rectified most of that, but I knew I was going to be pretty badly bruised on my right side, where I had done most of my lying and creeping. While I was getting dressed the next morning, I tried to count the bruises, but lost count somewhere above 30, stretching in a long line from my shoulder all the way to my knee. But if this winter’s electric bills are lower than last winter’s, it will be worth it; the bruises aren’t nearly as painful as a $500 electric bill.
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I can recommend a good dust mask for you, should you be doing a similar job in the future.
If i had known that you were going to do this miserable job, would have recommended a few things which i learnt the hard way. Do it when it is really cold as you will be nice and toasty in the Tyvek bunny suit and full face mask with goggles. One can actually tape the hood of the bunny suit to the goggles and mask which should be no less than an N95. As for the ground injury simply purchase two 5/8 foam insulation boards with smooth finish; they are usually blue or green. It is amazing how much they isolate you from the ground pressure and its little residents like rocks and debris. The second board allows you to change position by sliding which is of course easier on the foam board than sliding on the ground. Then move the former board to the new position. Another thing that i learnt the hard way is to have adequate support for the head almost like a prop pillow. One does not realize the load on the neck and back muscles holding up one’s head from a near horizontal position. I used an old flour sack filled with light debris. If you find yourself lifting your head, it is not high enough.
The last time that i considered doing such a job, i used spray foam insulation instead of that miserable glass stuff. It was the best decision ever. Sealed drafts, clean, does not itch, never drops out of place, pest proof. One must substitute the the mask for a chemical respirator for obvious reasons. And, only use closed cell foam regardless of what anyone tells you.
Please be careful next time. One should definitely not breathe in that fiberglass stuff.
My first martial arts classes about 50 years ago began with all students flat on their backs on the mat, arms out straight and chins as close to chest as possible, so that students could see the instructor.
Routine exercise from that position: lift entire body off the mat so that only palms and heels touched the mat, with chin in the same position.
After a few classes, we all had very strong neck muscles, plus many other muscles we didn’t even know we had.
Then the instructor taught us how to use them.
I appreciate the advice, but no. It was already cold, and I cannot work in an EV getup as you suggest. Plus all that stuff costs $$$, which as you can probably tell from above is more uncomfortable to me than the one-and-done discomfort I endured.
as long as you got it done and are ok. Will also agree that i hate working in PPE especially respirators. Masks i can deal with for some reason. The bunny suits are actually really cheap, but i too do not like being trapped. Violently allergic to that material on my skin, so the trade off when i have to deal with it.
Consider adding a few cast iron stoves, wood or pellet. They can drastically reduce your heating costs. The fuel should be inexpensive in your area.
We already own several stoves; they just need to be installed. And I own 11 acres, mostly woods; that fuel is free.
Very nice, wishing you much enjoyment.